Gua Bao

Ingredients

Buns

• 500 gplain flour
• 260 mlwarm water
• or 260 ml warm milk
• 60 gsugar
• 7 gdried yeast
• 1 teaspoonbaking powder
• 30 glard or oil
• 1/2 teaspoonsalt
• a little oil, for folding

Braised pork

• 1.2 kgpork belly, skin on
• 4 tablespoonssoy sauce
• 2 tablespoonsdark soy sauce
• 3 tablespoonsrock sugar
• 100 mlShaoxing wine
• 5spring onions
• 6garlic cloves
• 4cm ginger, sliced
• 2star anise
• 1cinnamon stick
• 1 teaspoonfive spice
• about 600 ml water

To fill

• 200 gsuan cai, pickled mustard greens
• 100 groasted peanuts, ground coarse
• 2 tablespoonssugar, for the peanuts
• a large handful of coriander

Directions

1. Oil between the layers keeps them apart. The peanut powder is sweet and dry. Cut the pork belly into thick slices. Aim for about two centimetres. Put the pork in cold water in a pot. Bring the whole pot to a boil. Let it boil for three minutes.
2. Drain it and rinse it under cold water. Heat a little oil in a heavy pot. Add the rock sugar to the oil. Let it melt and turn a deep amber. Add the pork and turn it in the caramel.
3. Add the garlic, ginger and spring onions. Add the star anise and cinnamon. Add the five spice powder to it. Pour in all the Shaoxing wine. Let it bubble for one full minute. Add both of the soy sauces in. Add enough water to nearly cover the pork.
4. Bring it up to a gentle simmer. Cooking it takes genuinely real time. Cover it and simmer very gently. Give it about two full hours of that. Turn the pieces once or twice. Never let it boil hard at any point. Take the lid off for the last twenty minutes.
5. Let the sauce reduce and thicken. It should coat the pork glossily. Warm the water to just above body temperature. It should feel barely warm to a clean finger. Stir the yeast and a spoon of sugar into it. Let it stand five minutes until it foams. Combining it takes only a moment. Put the flour, sugar and salt in a bowl. Add the baking powder to the flour. Whisk them together thoroughly.
6. Add the yeasted warm water to it. Add the lard or the oil to it. Bring it together into a firm dough. Knead it for a good ten minutes. It should become very smooth indeed. Cover it and leave it somewhere warm. It should roughly double in size. Divide it into ten equal pieces. Roll each one into a smooth ball.
7. Roll each ball into a flat oval. Aim for about half a centimetre thick. Brush oil over one half of the oval. Fold the oval over onto itself. That oil stops the two halves fusing.
8. Brush the oil on very generously. Set each on a square of baking paper. Cover them over and let them rise. Give them about thirty minutes. Bring the water to a rolling boil. Set the steamer over the water. Steam them for about twelve minutes. Do not lift the lid at all now. Turn the heat off when the time is up. Wait five minutes before opening the lid.
9. Rinse the suan cai and squeeze it dry. Chop it and fry it briefly in oil. That takes off the raw sourness. Grind the peanuts coarsely with the sugar. Pick the coriander leaves off. Assembling them is done at the table.
10. Lay a piece of pork inside it. Spoon a little braising sauce over it. Add a spoonful of the pickled greens. Scatter peanut powder generously over that. Top it with fresh coriander leaves. Serving them is done immediately. Steam them again straight from frozen. The pork keeps four days refrigerated.

Technique

• The nickname hu yao zhu means tiger bites pig, with the folded white bun as the tiger’s mouth and the pork as the pig; weiya is the year-end company banquet on the sixteenth day of the twelfth lunar month, where the bun’s purse shape is said to hold the coming year’s fortune, an association that is traditional rather than documented.
• Oil brushed between the folded halves is what stops them fusing in the steamer; without it the bun steams into a solid lump that cannot be opened.
• The rich pork, sour pickled greens, sweet peanut powder and fresh coriander are a deliberate balance, and leaving any one out unbalances it.

Substitutions

• Bought frozen lotus leaf buns are widely sold and steam in minutes.
• Any pickled mustard green works in place of suan cai.

Variations

• Some stalls add a slice of braised egg alongside the pork.
• A version with braised beef is sold in some places.
• The buns are also filled with fried chicken or mushrooms.

History

Nicknamed tiger bites pig, it is eaten at year-end weiya company banquets, its purse shape said to hold the coming year’s fortune.

Frequently asked questions

What is Gua Bao?

Gua Bao is a street food from Taiwan: steamed bun folded around braised pork belly, pickled mustard greens and peanut powder. Nicknamed tiger bites pig, it is eaten at year-end weiya company banquets, its purse shape said to hold the coming year’s fortune.

How long does Gua Bao take to make?

Gua Bao takes 1 hour plus rising of preparation and 2 hours of cooking. The recipe makes about 10 buns. It is rated hard to make.

What can I substitute in Gua Bao?

Yes, within limits. Bought frozen lotus leaf buns are widely sold and steam in minutes. Any pickled mustard green works in place of suan cai.

What is the most important thing to get right in Gua Bao?

Oil between the layers keeps them apart. The peanut powder is sweet and dry. Cut the pork belly into thick slices. Aim for about two centimetres. Put the pork in cold water in a pot. Bring the whole pot to a boil. Let it boil for three minutes.